Knowledge and behavior among health professionals in relation to cadaveric organ donation and transplantation: a questionnaire-based analysis in Portuguese hospitals

Experiential learning not enough for organ procurement surgery: implications for perioperative nursing education

CONTEXT

Perioperative nurses play a vital role in assisting in surgical procedures for multiorgan procurement, receiving little education apart from on-the-job experiential learning when they are asked to participate in these procedures.

OBJECTIVES

Within an Australian context and as part of a larger study, this article describes issues that hindered perioperative nurses' participatory experiences as a result of lacking education, previous exposure, and preparation for assisting in surgical procedures for organ procurement.

DESIGN

The grounded theory method was used to develop a substantive theory of perioperative nurses' experiences of participating in surgical procedures for multiorgan procurement.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty-five perioperative nurses who had experience in surgical procedures for organ procurement from regional, rural, and metropolitan hospitals of 2 Australian states, New South Wales and Western Australia, participated in the research.

RESULTS

Levels of knowledge and experience emerged from the data as an influencing condition and was reported to affect the perioperative nurses' participatory experiences when assisting in procurement surgical procedures. Six components of levels of knowledge and experience were identified and are described.

CONCLUSION

The findings from this study provide a unique contribution to the existing literature by providing an in-depth understanding of the educational needs of perioperative nurses in order to assist successfully in multiorgan procurement procedures. These findings could guide further research with implications for clinical initiatives or education programs specifically targeting the perioperative nursing profession both locally and internationally.

Australian perioperative nurses' experiences of assisting in multi-organ procurement surgery: a grounded theory study

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

Multi-organ procurement surgical procedures through the generosity of deceased organ donors, have made an enormous impact on extending the lives of recipients. There is a dearth of in-depth knowledge relating to the experiences of perioperative nurses working closely with organ donors undergoing multi-organ procurement surgical procedures.

AIM

The aim of this study was to address this gap by describing the perioperative nurses experiences of participating in multi-organ procurement surgical procedures and interpreting these findings as a substantive theory.

DESIGN

This qualitative study used grounded theory methodology to generate a substantive theory of the experiences of perioperative nurses participating in multi-organ procurement surgery.

SETTING

Recruitment of participants took place after the study was advertised via a professional newsletter and journal. The study was conducted with participants from metropolitan, rural and regional areas of two Australian states; New South Wales and Western Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty five perioperative nurse participants with three to 39 years of professional nursing experience informed the study.

METHODS

Semi structured in-depth interviews were undertaken from July 2009 to April 2010 with a mean interview time of 60 min. Interview data was transcribed verbatim and analysed using the constant comparative method.

RESULTS

The study results draw attention to the complexities that exist for perioperative nurses when participating in multi-organ procurement surgical procedures reporting a basic social psychological problem articulated as hiding behind a mask and how they resolved this problem by the basic social psychological process of finding meaning.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a greater understanding of how these surgical procedures impact on perioperative nurses by providing a substantive theory of this experience. The findings have the potential to guide further research into this challenging area of nursing practice with implications for clinical initiatives, management practices and education.